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Decodable Books on the Menu for Foundational ‘Readers-In-Training’ as an Appetizer—–YES, Please! (Part 1)…Save Leveled Books and Authentic ‘text’ Books for the Main Course/Dessert (Part 2)

Leave a Comment / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Back to School, Decoding (Reading), Dyslexia, Early Literacy, High Frequency Words, Parenting, Pre and Early Literacy, Resiliency / By

Let’s order from the same menu so we know what we are talking about from the outset! 3 Types of Books on the Menu When Teaching Foundational Skills to ‘Readers-In-Training’: Decodable Books Decodable Books are those targeting specific sound/symbol relationships and reliable phonics patterns such as short vowels and basic consonant sounds, etc. These books […]

Decodable Books on the Menu for Foundational ‘Readers-In-Training’ as an Appetizer—–YES, Please! (Part 1)…Save Leveled Books and Authentic ‘text’ Books for the Main Course/Dessert (Part 2) Read More »

Get a Grip!  What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (Part 1),  Why It Is Important (Part 2), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand (Part 3) – Part 2

2 Comments / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Attention, Handwriting, Homework Help, Literacy & Technology, Parenting, Social-Emotional Health, Written Language / By

July (Part 2), Coming in August (Part 3) 2025  Introduction If you are just reading this article for the first time, I suggest you click back to my June 2025 article here, which explains the development of an appropriate pencil grip from birth to about age 5 prior to reading this month’s article. As a

Get a Grip!  What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (Part 1),  Why It Is Important (Part 2), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand (Part 3) – Part 2 Read More »

Get a Grip! What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (Part 1), Why It Is Important (Part 2), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand (Part 3) – Part 1

2 Comments / Early Literacy, Executive Function & Literacy, Handwriting, Language & Literacy, Parenting, Pre and Early Literacy, Science of Reading, Written Language / By

(Parts 2 and 3 in the works!) How Does Your Child Hold a Writing Utensil? Ages and Stages…Pre-Writing Ages 0-4 Babies are born into a world in which they are totally dependent on their caretakers, most often their parents. Although their capacity for full sensory and muscle development is intact (in most cases), these skills

Get a Grip! What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (Part 1), Why It Is Important (Part 2), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand (Part 3) – Part 1 Read More »

What Parents Need to Know About Teaching Letter Names AND/OR Letter Sounds…and Which to Teach First…Get On the Train!

2 Comments / Decoding (Reading), Early Literacy, Handwriting, Language Literacy Connection, Literacy, Parenting, Pre and Early Literacy, Reading Brain / By

The Train is in the Station –The Toddler The Question… As many of my readers are aware, I am a Moderator of the 242+K member FaceBook Group, Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned in College. So…I see, read, and respond to many questions on an almost daily basis. It is one way I can

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A Parent’s Plea: How Can I Help My Child With Reading At Home?

6 Comments / Dyslexia, Literacy, Parenting, Reading Brain, Resiliency, Science of Reading, Social-Emotional Health / By

Recently, I came upon a “not infrequently” posed question from a teacher on behalf of a ‘distraught parent’: “I work with a student whose parent was distraught after seeing the results of routine mid-year screening. As one can imagine, this student did poorly on the screening and reportedly has been diagnosed with dyslexia. The parent

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What Parents Need to Know About ‘The Kitchen Sink Approach’ When It Comes to Literacy (Reading and Spelling) Instruction

Leave a Comment / Back to School, Decoding (Reading), Early Literacy, Parenting, Reading Brain, Social Emotional Learning / By

What’s Important to Know Today’s students achieve the most important task of schooling, that is, developing skilled literacy (reading and spelling) over the course of several years. It is often said that grades Kindergarten through Grade 3 are the years students “learn to read”, with the years from Grades 4+ the years students “read to

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What Do Parents Need to Know About “Summer Slide”–AKA ‘Learning Loss’?

Leave a Comment / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Back to School, Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Decoding (Reading), Executive Function & Literacy, Parenting, Reading Fluency, Vocabulary Development, Written Language / By

What is “Summer Slide”? Have you ever even heard of this term before?? I just finished a Zoom meeting with a gal who has three adult children and nine grands–I asked her if she had ever heard of the term….guess what, she had not! So you are not alone. According to Scholastic, a whopping 48%

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WRITING IS LEARNING! “Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.” ~Molière

Leave a Comment / Literacy & Technology, Literacy News, Reading Brain, Resiliency, Science of Reading / By

While my intent is to help my readers learn, let me share what I have learned along the way in the long and winding road leading to a book’s publication. Getting a book into the hands of the intended audiences turned out to be far harder than I could ever have imagined. Writing the manuscript

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Does Your Child(ren) or Student(s) Struggle With Reading? I’m So Passionate About Helping Kids Learn To Read and Spell, I Wrote A Book!

6 Comments / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Attention, Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Decoding (Reading), Dyslexia, Early Literacy, Education Equity, Executive Function & Literacy, Handwriting, High Frequency Words, Language & Literacy, Language Literacy Connection, Morphology - What's That?, Parenting, Phonological Awareness, Pre and Early Literacy, Reading Brain, Reading Fluency, Resiliency, Science of Reading, Social Emotional Learning, Speech to Print, Spelling, Vocabulary Development / By

WHY DO I SUGGEST STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THE READING/SPELLING/WRITING BRAIN PROCESSES? Let’s talk about this phrase: “Knowledge is POWER.” Don’t you agree? The more students of any age know abour how a task is accomplished, it’s got to have a positive outcome. Children and parents alike are often confused and upset when things aren’t going well

Does Your Child(ren) or Student(s) Struggle With Reading? I’m So Passionate About Helping Kids Learn To Read and Spell, I Wrote A Book! Read More »

“I Was Feeling Guilty as a Parent!” 2024 is THE YEAR to Educate Yourself to Support Your Child(ren)

Leave a Comment / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Parenting, Science of Reading, Your Journey / By

A few months ago, I had occasion to correspond and speak with Lisa Hanifan, who by her own admission, was an “angry teacher” and a mom who later “felt guilty as a parent.”  You see, Ms. Hanifan didn’t know what she didn’t know. My colleague, Lisa, has NOTHING to feel guilty about—neither as a teacher

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